News and notes from Imagine! and the Imagine! Foundation.
DSP Dialogue
Sep-10-2019
Services
Welcome to another edition of “DSP Dialogue,” where Imagine! Direct Support Professionals offer tips and tricks to improve service delivery. Today: how to build rapport by following easy “recipes.”
What Does “Rapport Building” Mean, and Why It is Important to You?
By Kristin Cowin
Imagine! Clinical Team Leader
You may have heard from your supervisor and colleagues that building rapport with individuals to whom you are providing services is important. Ever wonder why?
Well, researchers have wondered, too. Lugo, A. M. Lugo and colleagues studied toddlers with autism. They used current staff members and behavioral skills training to conduct their study while the children were in a common-play area. The study aimed at defining pairing procedures and then training staff members.
The authors identified seven observable/measurable behaviors of pairing in building rapport:
- Replicate: Therapist imitates appropriate play skills exhibited by client; Child opens a book Staff opens a book
- Echo: Therapist repeats vocalizations made by client; Child: Woof-woof! Staff: Woof-woof, the dog is barking!
- Closeness : Therapist stays within arm’s distance of client; If the child was playing in the ball pit, was the therapist within arm’s reach
- Initiate: Therapist offers tangible items to client; Rolling a toy car down their arm and placing it in the child’s hand
- Praise: Therapist uses behavior-specific praise contingent on appropriate play skills; “Awesome job turning the page!”
- Establish: Therapist creates a new activity by changing the function of a toy; Using a book as a tent for dolls
- Specify: Therapist describes appropriate play skills exhibited by client; Staff: “You are playing the piano!”
Even though future research on the effects of these procedures will be helpful, the seven behaviors of pairing are a great place to start when we think about ways to build rapport with individuals.
By following these “RECIPES” you will be on your way to building rapport with clients in no time!!
Reference: Lugo, A. M., King, M. L., Lamphere, J. C., & McArdle, P. E. (2017). Developing Procedures to Improve Therapist-Child Rapport in Early Intervention. Behavior analysis in practice, 10(4), 395–401. doi:10.1007/s40617-016-0165-5
